


Royal Guard Romance

by PlantBoy_Elliott



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Fight Scene, My First Work in This Fandom, descriptions of violence, hope it makes sense and isnt just nonsense, never written a fight scene before, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 17:58:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16897323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlantBoy_Elliott/pseuds/PlantBoy_Elliott
Summary: Link dons the royal guard uniform to an important ball held at the castle, and hopes it won't impede on his ability to do his job and protect the princess, though he's sure he'll never have to draw his sword at this event, right?





	Royal Guard Romance

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: Finally had time to make some adjustments to this fic. Thank you so much to everyone who commented with suggestions, I appreciated them very much!

Stiff. That was the first word Link would use to describe the royal guard uniform. Unnecessary, impractical and stuffy all came soon after. The boots were new, not yet broken in. Not that he could go romping about in them, they were white. Who decided that was a good plan? The gloves were white too, which was even worse. It made him hesitant to touch just about everything. The belt was a little snug, and the beret never seemed to sit quite as it should on his head. 

Usually Link was allowed, or conditioned perhaps, to prioritise practicality in his clothing choices. From training as a swordsman, to being appointed as the Princess’ personal knight. He was always comfortable in what he wore, it was always easy to move in. Today however, was not a normal day. 

The King of hyrule was holding an important gala, to meet with the leaders of each area of hyrule, their families, and other dignitaries. Everyone took these events incredibly seriously. Planning had begun three months in advance of the day; Link was glad that wasn’t part of his job. Protecting the princess everywhere, was his job however, and even during the gala he’d have to perform it. This time, in proper uniform. It was all for show, or tradition, Link wasn’t really sure. He was glad the whole castle was full of guards, also forced to don similar uniforms for the event. Zelda would be safe enough that he’d probably not have to draw his weapon and fight. He let his hand come to rest upon the sword hilted at his waist, attached to his slightly too-tight belt. All the other guards had standard royal guard rapiers. Link was glad that he at least still got to carry the sword that seals the darkness. His sword. It was the only thing that made him stand out from the other guardsmen and women, apart from the badge on his brassard that indicated he was the princess’ personal knight. That much, Link thought, would be obvious, what with him following the Princess everywhere anyway. 

His train of thought was broken when he heard shuffling and talking from the room behind him. He was stood outside Zelda’s bedroom, waiting for her to finish getting ready. He wasn’t the only one forced into traditional royal garb. 

Footsteps approached the wooden door and it swung open. Link spun to face Zelda as she stepped from the room. She was wearing a long blue gown, with sleeves long flowing sleeves that continued way past her hands at the bottoms - that would be awkward to try and eat in later, Link thought. She looked slightly taller, which meant she had heels on, hidden by her long skirt. Her hair looked different too, but he wasn’t sure how. He met her eyes and realised she was pulling a face, as though holding in a sneeze. Suddenly laughter filled the empty corridor. It almost startled Link, but Zelda was giggling into her hand. It was a sound that link was only just getting accustomed to, but one he was certainly fond of. It made his chest feel bubbly.  
“I- I’m sorry-“ she began breathlessly, “you just look so … awkward! Like you have a rod taped to your back.” She managed to stifle her giggles and stepped forwards. She reached up and gently adjusted the beret. Her sleeves tickled Link’s cheeks as she did, and he realised she smelled like flowers. They rarely got this close. She stepped back with a now satisfied look on her face.  
“There. I think we’re presentable. We best not be late, Father has been so stressed about this evening that if we aren't on time I fear his hair may fall out.” She gave Link a soft smile, which he returned with a little one of his own, before she span around on her heel and he followed her through the castle. 

The vast hall usually felt empty, but tonight it was bustling. Tables of beautiful food lined the walls, with one area set up for dining at the back, in front of the towering stained glass windows. Link felt his heart break just a little that he’d probably not get to eat for hours yet. Everyone was milling about talking as they descended the wide staircase.  
“Zelda!” King Rhoam voice boomed, the chatter dying down as everyone’s attention turned to Zelda as she descended the stairs, Link right behind her. So much attention made Link weary and uncomfortable. Zelda, however, didn't even flinch as all eyes set on her. The king waited for them at the bottom of the stairs. “Good evening Father,” she greeted, the smallest of smiles on her face, one Link had come to think of as the stiff formal one. Everyone slowly began to return to their conversations, until the hall was filled with noise once again. 

Link followed as Zelda accompanied her father through polite conversations with several small groups of guests. As much as Link's mind wanted to wonder, he forced himself to stay focused. The only upside to listening to these talks was that Zelda would sit with him later that night, or the next afternoon, and speak her true thoughts on the guests. Zelda was not rude by any means, but she had feelings like anyone else, and could only put up with so much bullshit. Link was always happy to listen to the princess’ brutally honest musings, even joining in when he could figure out how to express his wordless feelings. Usually he just nodded along, or laughed along, at Zelda’s sharp wit. 

“Yes, she does take after me, we are both quite stubborn!” Rhoam chuckled, agreeing with whoever they were talking to. Some Zora dignitary not part of the royal family. Link had hoped they would run into Mipha, but no such luck.  
“I only wish she would take more after her mother.” Link felt his heart jolt at the King’s words. Surely he knew that Zelda would be heartbroken at such a comment. A split second of silence followed before Zelda suddenly took a step away from her father.  
“I need air. Alone.” She spoke firmly, her anger hidden, bubbling just beneath the surface. Then she was gone, her heels clicking on the floor as she quickly strode to the nearest exit. 

Link and Rhoam made eye contact. Link could see that the king was upset, perhaps even regretful at what he had done, but also angry. He was always pushing Zelda to be polite and hide her feelings at these events. Link resented that, it took a toll on Zelda that the king himself never saw. Link was sure the king didn't see much of Zelda at all these days. Only to discipline her. “Go and find her, encourage her to come back to the party,she is needed here.” Rhoam said quietly to Link. He nodded once and jogged away in the direction Zelda had gone. 

She had managed to weave her way through the crowd quickly, and sped through a door that led down a large hallway towards the kitchens and staff quarters. Link knew there was a tiny, walled in garden that Zelda used to hide from him in a lot in his early days of being her knight. 

Just as Link was reaching the edge of the crowd, he noticed three people slip through the door that Zelda had vanished into. Link ducked down, hand on his sword. He slowly opened the door, peering down the worryingly empty corridor. Suddenly there was a yelp. Zelda. Link burst through the doorway and sprinted down the hall and out into the cold night air. Zelda was trying to shake off the two men grabbing her arms. 

 

Link drew his sword and clanged it against the wall, and all three men turned. Link recognised the weapons they were carrying. They were yiga clan. They must have slipped into the party in disguise. Link was unsure if Zelda was their target or just an opportunity taken, and he didn’t care. He raised his sword and two of the men ran at him instantly. One kept grip on Zelda. Link was practically on auto-pilot as he disarmed the one of the attackers. The man let out a startled scream and gripped his hand where Link’s sword had hit it, stumbling back only a few metres till his back hit the wall. The other managed to get a good swing. Link dodged but the demon carver sliced into his arm through his jacket.  
“LINK!” Zelda gasped, as the man holding her pulled her back a little further. 

Link gritted his teeth against the pain and brought up his blade just in time to defend himself from a second swing. The carver wielder jumped back, and Link heard footsteps approaching from behind. The man he had disarmed bas back up, seemingly determined to use his non injured hand best he could. Link ducked before the sword could hit his head, and used the handle of his sword to wind the man, hitting him in the stomach. He made a breathless gagging sound and stumbled away again. Link had almost no time to recover as the other yiga lunged for him again. He managed to swing his sword just right and the man’s hand came clean off his arm, still holding his weapon. Though Link could not see his face from behind his mask, he knew the man would be wide eyed. He too fell back, grasping desperately at where his hand used to be. He’d be out of action for a moment, so Link could turn to the winded yiga. 

He kicked both of their weapons out of the way, into the hallway as he stalked over. The man threw a punch, which Link managed to dodge, but got hit with a second. The man screamed when his hand connected with Link’s cheek. That must have been where the cut was from the master sword. Link managed not to react to the punch, other than the recoil of his head. He turned back to the man with a scowl. Usually he would have let them live, but in such a small space with so many blades, he could not risk any of them getting back up and making a second attempt on the princesses life, or his own for that matter. He slit the first man’s throat with efficiency, before turning his gaze on the other. He was still wailing about his hand, a sound Link had somehow blocked out until now. A quick swing of his sword beheaded him without the man ever having chance to fight back. Finally he could deal with the third clan member.

He was stood behind the princess, a knife to her throat. Thankfully, Zelda had her eyes closed tight, Link hoped she hadn’t seen too much of the violence. Link took a moment to calculate when Zelda opened her eyes, training them on him. She winked at him twice, to make sure he was looking at her, and then glanced at Link’s crotch. He took a moment to consider, as Zelda glanced subtly back at her attacker for a second, before turning her gaze back on Link, waiting. Link nodded very slightly, indicating that he understood, holding his sword steady. Zelda slowly brought her hand forwards, into a fist by her hip, before side stepping barely an inch and swinging it back, hitting the clan member where it hurt. He shrieked, and Link grabbed Zelda’s hand, pulling her from his now weakened grip. As soon as she was out of the way he plunged his sword through the Yiga chest. He waited until the man was on the floor to pull it out again, and then turned to Zelda. 

She looked ghostly white, covered in blood spatter, but alive, and without significant injury. Link let out a sigh of relief and sheathed his bloody sword, closing the short space between he and the princess, his hands on her arms, softly. She managed a shaky smile. “I-I’m okay. Thank you.” Link nodded at this. He pulled off his messy gloves and dropped them, using his thumb to wipe the blood from her cheek. Zelda leaned into his touch, her eyes closing for a moment as she sighed. “We should go and find father, tell him what happened. I would rather go to my room but I don’t want to worry him.” She explained, her voice shaking. Link nodded, his hand slipped from her cheek, and he offered it to her to take. She did, and Link pulled her into the corridor away from the gore as quickly as he could. They trudged hand in hand back through the corridors to the grand hall. Link could feel her hand shaking in his, and wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and stay that way till she felt better. But Zelda was strong, and Link knew that she was right to go and see the King. Besides, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

People noticed them as soon as they stepped in, and a hushed chatter spread as the crowd parted to let them through. King Rhoam turned as the sea of people moved aside, revealing Link and Zelda, covered in blood. For a moment he looked as though he might have a heart attack.  
“Zelda, my darling what happened? Are you hurt?” He babbled as he rushed to her, kneeling down in front of her.  
“I am okay father, I promise. Link protected me. There were three members of the Yiga Clan, who had snuck in. There may be more, I suggest we have the guards do a sweep of the hall. The three of them are out in the staff garden. Someone will need to clean up there to.” Zelda spoke in a hushed tone, trying to ensure only her father heard.  
“Of course my dear, I am just glad you are alright. Link, take Zelda to her room.” Link responded with a single nod, and Rhoam turned his attention back to his daughter. “You should rest my dear. If you need anything at all just ask.” He stood again, and Zelda managed a tiny smile and nodded.  
“Thank you father.” 

King Rhoam turned back to his guests to assure them everything was okay, while subtlety signalling the guards to do a sweep of the hall and surrounding areas of the castle. Zelda once again took Link's hand and they climbed the wide staircase back up to the empty halls on Zelda and Rhoam’s floor. They reached Zelda’s door in silence, and Zelda pushed it open. Link stood in the doorway. He wanted to make sure Zelda was okay, but he also wanted to respect her privacy. She turned when she realised that he had not followed and beckoned him inside. 

Link stepped in and closed the door behind him. It was quiet for a moment, as both of them took stock of what had happened. Zelda sighed and began taking the pins out of her hair, putting them onto her dresser one by one. She ran her fingers through it slowly to undo the braids in it, which left sections of her hair wavier than the rest. Link took his belt off and put it in the corner by the door. He knew the hilt would keep his bloodied sword from leaking onto the floor. He dreaded having the clean that up later. He tugged off his white boots, speckled with blood, as was his jacket. He used the sleeve to wipe the blood from his cheek. The Yiga had punched him with an injured hand, smearing blood where he hit. The jacket was then also left crumpled by the door. His beret was last to come off, it had somehow stayed in place during the fight.

When Link turned to Zelda she had kicked off her high heels and was struggling with the laced up back of her dress. She sighed angrily, letting her arms fall slack by her sides. “Link, could you help?” She asked, not looking up from the floor. She sounded as if she was holding back tears.  
“Mhmm,” Link hummed, as he untied the bow and began untightening the ribbons one by one. He could feel her begin to relax, and finally the ribbon was lose enough and Link took a small step back. Zelda shimmied the dress off and left it where it had dropped, along with the petticoat under it. She left her slip dress on and walked over to her bed, flopping onto it face first.

Link decided to remove his bloodied slacks too, before taking a seat next to Zelda. After a quiet moment her hand moved towards where the bed had dipped with Link’s weight, seeking him out. Link extended his own hand, placing it on top of hers. Zelda seemed happy to lay like that for a moment, before she gave link’s hand a tug in her direction. He shuffled sideways towards her until his legs touched her hip. She then reached up to his chest and pushed. Link gave no resistance and lay down next to Zelda. She shuffled closer and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to wrap his arm around her.  
“Well at least I got out of some boring diplomatic small talk.” Zelda sighed. Link huffed a small laugh, and watched as a tiny smile found Zelda’s soft features. He brushed the hair from her face and shoulders. 

The two lay that way in silence for what felt like an hour, but could have been a quarter of that time. Link was jostled from his hazey disjointed thoughts when he felt Zelda shaking. He craned his neck to look at her but Zelda’s face was buried in his shoulder. He rolled a little and gently placed his hand on her arm, rubbing softly, hoping to reassure her. After a moment it became clear that the princess was crying. Link let her sob out her emotions, the fear, the worry, the pain. He held her until her crying stopped, and kept holding her, rubbing her back in soothing circles until she was still. Link wasn’t even surprised when she fell asleep, he was exhausted too, having come down from the high of adrenaline. He could easily have nodded off too, but decided against it. He gave in to his protective instincts and stayed awake as long as he could, making sure Zelda was okay, that she was safe and sleeping alright. 

He must have nodded off at some point, because when Link opened his eyes it was getting dark outside. His arm had gone numb from where Zelda had her head resting on it, but he daren’t move; he didn’t want to wake her. As if she had hear his thought though, Zelda looked up at him and smiled slightly. Link smiled back.  
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” She mumbled, clearly still trying to wake up. Link shook his head, she had no need to be sorry after all. She propped herself up on her elbow and Link flexed his hand, silently glad to feel the blood returning to his fingers.  
“I think I feel a little better now,” Zelda sighed, “Today has been rather too much. I suspect I’ll be fine by tomorrow.” She continued. Link hoped that she was telling the truth, he worried about her, and didn’t want her to bottle things up for his or anyone else’s sake. Then again, Zelda knew Link just as well and he knew her by now. It was difficult for either of them to hide anything from one another, even if they tried. 

“Thank you again. I know it’s your job but I still feel I should say it.” Zelda added as she flopped back onto the pillows. She glanced up at him then, and he smiled, hoping it was reassuring, and shook his head - no problem.  
“Of course you’d say that. Humble hero.” She jokingly tried to pat the arm she wasn’t lying on, and Link let out a pained gasp. Zelda withdrew her hand lightening fast, bolting up on the bed. She leaned over him, her soft hair tickling his chin distracted link from the pain for a moment.  
“Link, you’re bleeding.” She stated, sitting up straight again. Link jolted up too, wanting to make sure he hadn’t been bleeding onto Zelda’s sheets. He turned to check and luckily no blood there, but it was seeping onto his shirt sleeve from the gash in his shoulder. It looked like it had been for a while. Zelda sighed.  
“Really? You’re bleeding but you’re worried about my bed covers. I cannot believe you sometimes.” Link shrugged sheepishly, but he was warmed by the fondness in her tone. 

Zelda got up and fetched a small wooden box, bringing it to the bed and sitting beside Link. She unbuttoned his shirt for him, swatting his hand away whenever he tried to help. She then carefully removed the shirt, apologising every time Link winced or fliched. Despite the pain, Link found himself smiling. Zelda cleaned the wound, and Link kept quiet by balling the sheets in his free hand and squeezing hard. She then wrapped it in a bandage. Link could hear her mumbling to herself, something he had seen her do when she was logging plants into the Sheikah slate.  
“You are unbelievable. You let me fall asleep on you for hours and don’t even think to check yourself for injuries. How are you going to save Hyrule when you can’t even look after yourself?” Zelda muttered, clearly a little frustrated with Link.  
He felt that smile creeping back onto his face. He could feel exhaustion creeping into his muscles again, having only slept for a short time. And with it came a slightly lowered inhibition. He watched as Zelda wrapped his arm and told him off, and thought the furrow between her brows was endearing. He swayed forwards and placed a kiss there without thinking. Zelda paused, frozen in place for a second. Her face went slack and she looked up at Link, seemingly confused for a moment. Link opened his mouth as if he had anything to say or a way to explain, but closed it again quickly. His face began getting hot too. Zelda went from confused to smug in a split second, and leaned in to plant a proper kiss to Link’s lips. Link managed to lean into it, his eyes closing. It only lasted a few seconds but Link was sure they were the softest, most beautiful few seconds of his life. Zelda seemed embarrassed but satisfied when she pulled away, both of them smiling. Link wondered how she knew, but his question was easily answered. Zelda understood him even though he had never spoken a word to her, and he had come to understand her in the same way, of course she knew. Besides which, she was far smarter than anyone gave her credit for.

She said nothing as she went back to patching Link up, and once she was done they arranged themselves back on the bed, Zelda’s head on Link’s uninjured shoulder, his arm around her. For a while the silence was comfortable, but after awhile Link could feel Zelda’s overthinking, as if it spilled from her head. He looked down at her, and when she looked up he raised a questioning eyebrow.  
“I-... It’s silly.” Zelda admitted. Link shook his head though, and nudged her a little, encouraging her to tell him.  
“I’m just overthinking. I Like you, Obviously. And You like me. Clearly. But I’m a princess, which I suppose you knew long before you kissed me - actually I suppose I kissed you. But I don’t know if you know how complicated being with me may be. Or what Father will say.” She sighed. “Like I said, overthinking.”  
Link nodded, taking a moment to think before rolling over to properly face Zelda, letting his forehead rest against hers. He tightened his arm around her a fraction, brought her hand gently to his bandaged shoulder and nodded. I will always protect you. When he opened his eyes Zelda’s seemed to be watery, and Link hoped she understood. When she leaned in and kissed him again, he knew she did. He kissed her back, bringing her hand to his chest so she could feel the way his heart was skipping. She smiled against his mouth and Link thought maybe his heart was going to fall right out of his chest. He was utterly smitten.  
“I will look after you too, whenever I can.” She promised in a whisper against his lips. And although Link could not speak he mouthed the words  
“Thank you.” against her lips, and when she replied  
“You’re welcome,” with warmth and joy, he smiled back.  
Zelda didn’t need to say anything more, she was already kissing him again.

End.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thank you for reading. This is my very first fic for this fandom, but I feel good enough about it to post it so thats something! I do plan on writing more one shots, and possibly a multi-chapter story for various other ships from Breath Of The Wild so keep your eyes peeled. Any comments with feedback or requests are very welcome!


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